2005 Football League One play-off final
| |||||||
After extra time | |||||||
Date | 29 May 2005 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | ||||||
Referee | Phil Crossley | ||||||
Attendance | 59,808 | ||||||
The 2005 Football League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 2005 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Hartlepool United and Sheffield Wednesday. It determined the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League One to the Football League Championship. The top two teams of the 2004–05 Football League One season, Luton Town and Hull City, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2005–06 season in the Championship. The losing semi-finalists were Tranmere Rovers and Brentford.
The referee for the match, which kicked off in front of 59,808 spectators, was Phil Crossley. Late in the first half, Craig Rocastle played a one-two with Lee Peacock before crossing to Jon-Paul McGovern who scored to put Sheffield Wednesday ahead at half-time. Early in the second half, a long throw-in from Ritchie Humphreys found first-half substitute Eifion Williams who equalised for Hartlepool. Jon Daly, who had been on the pitch for a minute, scored to put Hartlepool into the lead with a header from Gavin Strachan's free-kick in the 71st minute. In the 81st minute, Drew Talbot was brought down in the penalty area by Chris Westwood which the referee adjudged to have been a foul: he awarded a penalty to Sheffield Wednesday and sent off Westwood. Steven MacLean took the spot kick which Hartlepool goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos was unable to keep out. With three minutes remaining, McGovern shot over the Hartlepool bar and regular time ended with score at 2–2, sending the match into extra time. Four minutes into the first period of additional time, Glenn Whelan scored it 3–2 to Sheffield Wednesday and Talbot secured the victory for Sheffield Wednesday when he scored in the 120th minute to make it 4–2 to see his side promoted to the Championship.
In their
Route to the final
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Luton Town | 46 | 29 | 11 | 6 | 87 | 48 | +39 | 98 |
2 | Hull City | 46 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 80 | 53 | +27 | 86 |
3 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 73 | 55 | +18 | 79 |
4 | Brentford | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 75 |
5 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 77 | 59 | +18 | 72 |
6 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 21 | 8 | 17 | 76 | 66 | +10 | 71 |
Sheffield Wednesday finished the regular 2004–05 season in fifth place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Hartlepool United. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Football League Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third team to be promoted. Sheffield Wednesday finished fourteen points behind Hull City (who were promoted in second place) and twenty-six behind league winners Luton Town.[1]
Hartlepool United's opponents in their play-off semi-final were
Sheffield Wednesday faced
Match
Background
Neale Cooper, the Hartlepool manager, left the club in May 2005 "by mutual consent" with his side needing only a draw in their final league game to secure a place in the play-offs.[10] Martin Scott took over as caretaker manager, and led Hartlepool to the play-offs after securing a 2–2 draw against Bournemouth.[11][12] His counterpart for the final, Paul Sturrock, had taken over with Sheffield Wednesday in September 2004 with the club in 14th place in League One.[13][14]
This was the fifth time in six years that Hartlepool had been involved in the play-offs but the first time they had progressed to the final.[15] They had been promoted to the third tier when they finished as runners-up in the 2002–03 Third Division season but had never played in the second tier of English football.[15] Sheffield Wednesday were making their first appearance in the play-offs and had played in League One since suffering relegation in 2002–03 season.[16] In the matches between the clubs during the regular season, both teams won their home games, with Sheffield Wednesday winning 2–0 at Hillsborough in November 2004 and Hartlepool winning 3–0 at Victoria Park the following April.[17] Boyd was the leading scorer for Hartlepool with 26 goals in all competitions (22 in the league, 3 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup), followed by Porter with 15 (14 in the league and 1 in the FA Cup) and Antony Sweeney with 14 (13 in the league and 1 in the League Cup).[18] Steven MacLean was leading marksman for Sheffield Wednesday having scored 18 goals (all in the league) during the regular season.[19]
Sheffield Wednesday were considered favourites to win the match by bookmakers.[20] Both teams adopted a 4–4–2 formation.[21] The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.[22]
Summary
The match kicked off at around 3 p.m. on 29 May 2005 in front of 59,808 spectators at the
No personnel changes were made by either side during the interval and Hartlepool controlled the opening stages of the second half. In the 47th minute, a long
Four minutes into the first period of additional time, a mistake from Nelson allowed Whelan to strike the ball across the Hartlepool goalkeeper and into the goal to make it 3–2 to Sheffield Wednesday. Hartlepool gradually sent more players forward but Talbot secured the victory for Sheffield Wednesday when he scored in the 120th minute to make it 4–2 to see his side promoted to the Championship.[24]
Details
Hartlepool United
|
Sheffield Wednesday
|
|
|
Post-match
Sturrock said he was "relieved, tired and in need of a drink" but paid his respect to the opposing team, noting "credit to Hartlepool, they came out and rolled on top of us".[25] His counterpart Scott noted that "Wednesday played well, we played well, but when you lose three players injured and one is sent off you feel it isn't your day ... We have overachieved again and we have gone one step farther than last year."[26] Westwood described the decision of the referee to send him off as "life-changing".[27] He said: "I just hope the ref is happy ... I have been told several times by people who are nothing to do with our club that it wasn't a penalty. The ball bounced in his favour, we both scrambled for it and Talbot went down. He looked for it, but that's his job."[27] In an interview to commemorate the 15th anniversary of their win, Sheffield Wednesday's captain Lee Bullen noted that team-bonding was a key part of their success. Players were contractually obliged to live within 15 miles (24 km) of Sheffield, and team-bonding exercises prior to the final included a canoeing trip. On their journey back to Sheffield, gridlocked roads meant the players were able to disembark their team coach and start "a conga on the M4".[28]
In their
References
- ^ a b "League One – 2004/2005 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Clark, Graham (14 May 2005). "Boyd double buoys Hartlepool". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Hartlepool 2–0 Tranmere". BBC Sport. 13 May 2005. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Winrow, Ian (18 May 2005). "Cool Humphreys shoots Pool to final". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Tranmere 2–0 Hartlepool". BBC Sport. 17 May 2005. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Cross, Jeremy (13 May 2005). "McGovern edges Owls' noses in front". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Sheff Wed 1–0 Brentford". BBC Sport. 12 May 2005. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Evans, Simon (17 May 2005). "Wednesday waltz in the right direction". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Brentford 1–2 Sheff Wed". BBC Sport. 16 May 2005. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Boss Cooper in shock Pools exit". BBC Sport. 4 May 2005. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Martin Scott". League Managers Association. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "AFC Bournemouth v Hartlepool United, 07 May 2005". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Sturrock lands Owls post". BBC Sport. 23 September 2004. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "League One table after close of play on 23 September 2004". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Hartlepool United". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Sheffield Wednesday". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Sheffield Wednesday football club: record v Hartlepool United". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Hartlepool squad details – 2004/05 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Sheffield Wednesday squad details – 2004/05 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Mr Prospector: Tip of the week". The Observer. 29 May 2005. p. 15. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ a b Leach, Conrad (30 May 2005). "Westwood red card tips balance Wednesday's way". The Independent. p. 67. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ Aizlewood, John (29 May 2005). "Sturrock's Owls hope to take flight". The Sunday Times. p. 10. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ "Hartlepool United v Sheffield Wednesday, 29 May 2005". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Rayner, Stuart (30 May 2005). "Despair as Pool's 10 men pay penalty". Newcastle Journal. p. 54. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ Rich, Tim (30 May 2005). "Sturrock gamble helps Wednesday edge epic". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ Szczepanik, Nick (30 May 2005). "Wednesday Start the Climb Back". The Times. pp. 110–111. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ a b "Angry Westwood is seeing red at referee". Evening Chronicle. 30 May 2005. p. 36. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ Frostick, Nancy (28 May 2020). "Wednesday's 2005 play-off win, 'a season in 20 minutes' and a party on the M4". The Athletic. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Championship – 2005/2006 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "League One – 2005/2006 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.